Meeting Notes from Dec 15, 2014

Present:  Parks, John, Cherie, Blair, Liz, Ella, Nev, Eva, Neil, Chloe, Ken


Topic 1: New Year's Dance - Capacity 150
Chloe shared details about the New Year's dance.   PCD will provide a a big fruit plates or so, veggie plates, etc.  The committee will determine what to bring food wise.  And the word will go out for the potluck bootie to be limited to finger foods.  Bottles of seltzer were requested.

There is an intention to keep the dance hall to a reasonable level of quietness.    

Greeters:  1 in the beginning; 9 - 11 (1/2 hr shifts, with two people) 1 person from 11 - 11:30 then it's a free-for-all.

Estimate is that we have sold 40ish tix to date.

If the event tix sales reach 150 then we will turn people away at the door.

The NYD Crew will be sending out reminders to all who have registered for the event about the rules.

People have volunteered to bring pillows and blankets - and the message for pillows and blankets will go out in the email.

Lighting  - Ken is happy to provide the lighting for the event.  Ken can be called at 347-1381 if anyone has lighting info/ideas/materials/support.

Setup starts at 8.  The NYD Crew will coordinate volunteers for setup and breakdown.

Topic 2: Retreat  Proposal Passed
Deb will contact Snowbird regarding placing a deposit on the space for a March 20 weekend retreat if available with a caveat (shared with the snowbird owners) that until the date of the next Meraki, PCD will be looking for a larger space to accommodate our retreat, and will consider larger spaces, if any are found only until that Meraki meeting.  If, at the time of the meeting, no other spaces are deemed superior, then PCD will make good on it's commitment to rent the Snowbird and the retreat shall go forth on said date.  The proposal passed unanimously.

Topic 3:  DJ Compensation
Meraki agreed to pay DJs up to $130, and DJs are requested to present invoices.   DJs will get $90 for new year's eve.

Meraki (Steering Committee) Meeting Notes December 1, 2014

Meeting took place at Jill Eng's apartment, 39 North St., Portland, 12/1/2014, 7-9PM. Thanks Jill!

Present: Eva (Facilitating), Nev, Julie, Neil, Chloe, Blair, Jill, Ken, Liz, Amy, Jim, Xiknawi, Parks, Cherie, Rebecca, Mellen, John (notes)

Welcome to new Meraki participants Amy and Rebecca, and to returning Ken

Thanks to all who were involved with the successful First Annual Membership Meeting


Lost and Found

Concern was expressed about people leaving high value items behind at dance and what to do about them. Specifically a set of keys was left last Sunday, that we didn't know whether or not belonged to one of our dancers.

• John to talk with Kristin about having a safe place at Avant to put high-value lost and found items.
• Wizengamot (Operations Committee) to follow up.

Safety and Silence

With more people coming to dance, there's a concern about excessive conversation on the dance floor, and persistent unwanted attention by new dancers.

      Safety

• Liz mentioned that the Cambridge dance group she belongs to had volunteers with special training in safety. (After the meeting, John requested more information; Liz to get information from contacts there.)
• Neil suggested posting pictures of Wizenagmot so that people will know who to turn to in the event they're not feeling safe. (Ed: We decided to do this previously, but it didn't happen.)
• We need something more proactive. Not specifically sexual, but non-threatening approach and sensitivity to nonverbal cues (eye contact, moving away, body language) and when that fails, suggesting that dancers take care of themselves and feel free to say "no". Also establish that 
• just because you danced once with a partner, it doesn't at all mean you have to dance again.
• Solo dancing is part of the norm at PCD.
• Suggestion was made to have a specific safety sheet and board that goes into more detail about what our expectations than what's on the new member sheet.
• Other suggestions/ideas:
• Have a designated "on-duty" safety person for each dance
• Have a 2nd greeter whose responsibility it is to welcome and orient new dancers
• Have a sign-off on the safety sheet that the dancer has read and agrees to abide by guidelines
• Let's not micro-manage this, but have something specific in place.
• Regular announcements at closing circle
• Whatever rules we establish, we use "so that ... " language to establish the benefit of following the rule. Example: "So that partnering is a comfortable experience"
• Wizengamot will follow up

      Silence

• We had a suggestion in the suggestion box that the way we ask for quiet now is overbearing. Too much "shooshing."
• "On the dance floor, movement is language."
• It's not silence we're asking for, but freedom from social conversation on the dance floor.
• On the other hand, DJs could provide more time for silent wind-down at the end. Make sure there's time for this at the end of the set before we have to leave the space. (Chloe to take to the DJs.)
• We need to model ourselves what we're asking from others.
• The current "silence" sign is not clearly legible enough. We need something that can be grokked at a glance.

New Year's Eve Dance

• John: what we need right now are start and end times, and how much, so we can publish the event.
• Capacity is likely to be a problem. We decided to sell tickets in advance. Price: $15-$20.
• Not a dance party per se. Our usual dance with waves.
• Event is from 9-1. We'll rent the space from 8-2.
• Committee formed to follow up: Eva, Julie, Chloe, Ken, Liz
• Chemical-free, alcohol-free
• Julie and John to coordinate Eventbrite registration
• Liz offered having laptop or tablet at dance for registration
• Question to DJs: what is fair compensation assuming approximately 30% tax burden?

Compensation

• DJs: John said that some DJs have approached the $600 limit over which we are required to issue 1099-MISC forms to DJs. He wants to be able to pay DJs more because they are the lifeblood of PCD. So we could pay DJs enough that taxes are a don't care. DJs to take up at their next meeting. John will provide information on Sunday Dance income and expenses for informed consideration.
• Other positions: Nev's experience with Dance New England says that compensation should/could be considered before it is actually needed. DNE developed a patchwork of inequitable compensation policies based on desires expressed by individuals. We tabled the issue for now.

Taxes/Nonprofit status

Treasurer John's discussion with the accountant/tax advisor recommended by Mellen suggested that it would be advantageous to organize as a tax-exempt organization. Tax filing becomes much simpler. John: 501(c)(7) organization (Social Club) fits us best. We wouldn't be a charitable, tax-deductible 501(c)(3), which requires a much higher standard of charitability. Would require amending Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. John and Mellen to follow up.


Health during Cold & Flu Season:

•  Xiknawi to bring facial tissues and scent-free hand wipe or alternative
•  Liz: Stay home if you're sick

Retreat

Chloe solicited anyone who might know of a good retreat space for our 2015 winter retreat to let her know. Otherwise, further discussion about the retreat was tabled.


DJ Support

Neil suggested that PCD could buy one or more iPads with DJ software and a PCD spotify account for use by DJs, which would make their lives easier and save on music acquisition expenses. Agreed that this is a possibility. DJs to take up at their next meeting.


Promotion/Announcement of community resources

Neil and Chloe suggested possible ways that PCD community members could let other dancers konw about events of potential interest to them. Ideas: add links to Sunday Dance announcement, have a once/month special "Happenings" newsletter, put links to related dance resources on our website, have a table at Sunday Dance (we do now, but Liz said she'd never seen it). There was need for more discussion about this. What to include/exclude? Whose events are eligible? Email/website/physical or ? We tabled this for now.


Next Meeting

We'll be devoting the next meeting mostly to the New Year's Eve dance event and the PCD 2015 Winter retreat. Monday December 15, 7-9PM, at Nev and Chloe's, 24 Pitt St., Portland ME

PCD First Annual Membership Meeting: November 16, 2014

Portland Community Dance

First Annual Membership Meeting

November 16, 2014

The Portland Community Dance membership met at Avant Dance Center, Westbrook, Maine for its Annual Meeting. The meeting opened at 1:15 pm.

The meeting was attended by 34 members which constituted a quorum (total Membership is 51 so the representation of membership was at 67% for this meeting).

3. Elections of officers took place with these officers elected by unanimous vote:

Eva Rose Goetz - President

John Boynton - Treasurer

Dave Grant - Secretary

Outgoing secretary Deb Grant was thanked for her service. 

4. John Boynton gave the Finance Report, showing a projected balance of $6555 (in the PCD bank account) as of 12/31/2014. 

The meeting closed at 2 p.m.

Thank you to all who participated!

PCD Meraki Meeting 10/20/14

Met at Jill Eng's-- thanks, Jill!

Attended: John (facilitated), Mary Ellen, Xiknawi (welcome back!), Liberty, Liz (welcome!), Blair, Kellie, Jill, Parks, Chloe, Neil, Dave, Deb (meeting notes)

New Year's Eve party: reviewed that we want waves versus a dance party.  this will be a PCD dance, at Avant (vs a big party with multiple invitees who don't ).

Wiz update: Nev would like to join Wiz (operations committee) and we need new blood. Sage will cycle out.  That makes two spaces after Nev.
Deb steps forward to DJ coord and join Wiz.  One space left as of Jan. 1 as  John will need to leave at end of the year.
Voted yes to Nev and Deb
Current wiz is now John, Chloe, Neil, Blair, Nev, Deb

Chloe update, Retreat:  30ish people interested.  Jan and Feb were preferred, but March seems ok. Anticipate 20-25 people.  Idea of dance structured in thru out retreat time.  Chloe will continue to research locations.

RSVP-ing Meraki meetings: Regrets only of regulars?

Liz gets Meraki points. Like 3. For the following suggestion:

People should RSVP to the person who's hosting. That person's email goes into the body of the Meraki announcement email. If the host doesn't get a lot of emails, they could always bring that to the attention of the Meraki list.

Membership Meeting - dates - and location Avant vs. Portland Yoga Studio. Chloe asks how long meeting needs to be. Only things we need to do are elect officers, change bylaws if necessary, and maybe questions for non-Meraki people.

Decision to hold meeting at Avant on 11/16 after dance until 2:15pm. Eat first and keep meeting short.

John says that he still wants to be the Treasurer and that seems to be favorable to the Meraki.

Deb is considering stepping away from her position as Secretary. Secretary is the person who is responsible for keeping the records. Needs to attend all board meetings. Has authority over affixing the seal. Dave suggests that he will take it on if nobody else steps up, as he is in the best position to ask Deb for help.

We need to put it out to the Meraki to see if anyone else is interested in being Secretary.

Eva has yet to confirm whether or not she wants to be President again. Actually via text she says that she's interested in serving again.

Secretary is going to send out an email calling for people to be Secretary and also saying that John and Eva are interested in continuing, so we're all set with candidates for that.

Dave suggests that we really need a formal nominating process before we really have an open call for nominations.

Discussion following to establish what the purpose of Meraki continues to be? Anyone can be on Meraki. And yet the Meraki has the power. Unless they can't decide something, in which case the board can decide. The point is for the power to be in the Meraki.

What will we do at the meeting? How will we handle the election?
We'll have an explanation of the structure.
Mellen is going to put together an agenda for that meeting and recruit people to help her if it's necessary. Dave is going to help with fun.
Voting will be "all in favor" "all opposed" - voice vote?

Chloe proposes that we use some of our $ to get food for the meeting - why not do something nice for the members? Chloe says she will help figure it out.

Neil will add an announcement about the membership meeting to the PCD emails.

Members can sign up day of meeting even if they do.

John is going to import the membership list into an authoritative Mailchimp "membership" list. Dave/Blair will get that list to John. Deb proposes that we back up the list in Google Docs.

Choosing next date: December 1 at Jill's house - 7pm
39 North Street, Portland
between Quebec and Cumberland on Munjoy Hill

Meraki (Steering Committee) Meeting Notes 9/23/14

Attending: John, Chloë (co-facilitating), Neil (hosting, co-facilitating), Mellen, Parks, Liberty, Blair, Jill, Eva, Deb, Judy T, Julie, Nev, Martin

Facebook group

Nev suggests the possibility of Facebook group for community discussion. More shareable than a page, and more people get to see what's posted there.

Concern was expressed about opening it up to all and sundry, but an announcement about the group's purpose and guidelines can be pinned to the top, and our community is perhaps small enough as to not be vulnerable to a lot of superfluous stuff. Also, admins can delete spam.

We discussed making it a benefit of membership, but decided to make it open to all (but require Admin approval). Voted to create; Nev to spearhead. Admins: Nev, John, Chloë, Neil, Eva

Retreat

Chloë has done research, has email inquiries out to several facilities. Possibilities include Ferry Beach Saco, which would have space for 20 indoors, and we could do a retreat this fall (though most felt that was too soon for planning purposes), but has a big campus and dining hall that wouldn't be that intimate. Another possibility: a big house in Harpswell. Gorgeous place 20-24 (sleeps 20, but bedding for floors might be a possibility), about $150 / head. Great room looks big. On the pricey side at $1200-$1400/night. Other inquiries are out there, but no one facility is a standout perfect fit. Other possibilities to check out: Camp Kiev, Camp Wavus.

We discussed subsidizing part of the cost or offering scholarships, and decided to set a sliding scale fee, offer scholarships, and pick up the difference of what we don't take in. There was discussion of how big a place we'd need, and decided to take a poll/survey to get a gauge of interest and numbers. It depends on cost, when we hold it, how far away it is, and so on. Wouldn't be before January 2015. Chloë to take charge of announcements and signup sheet.

New Year's Eve Dance

We definitely want to do a New Year's Eve dance. Most expressed the desire to use a wave format rather than a more free-form dance party format like we had last year. State Street Church will be in the neighborhood of $500; John recommended renting a kickass sound system for the event. Some felt that last year's event was too crowded, but on reflection, it may have been that the crowd wasn't a problem as much as the dance party vibe of the event. There was fairly unanimous feeling of wanting to stage our regular Sunday Dance format. Avant was discussed as a possibility for a more intentional (but more costly @$200/hr) venue - we'd have fewer drop-ins at Avant than at State Street Church, because dancers would have to make an intentional journey to Westbrook for the event if it was held at Avant. We discussed the idea of presenting it as our standard dance experience rather than a dance party. John and Neil to follow up with State Street Church and Avant.

Fallbrook Woods

Martin took the initiative to coordinate our attendance at the Fallbrook Woods regular Saturday Dance Party. The main question under consideration was whether to keep it under the PCD umbrella, or let Martin run with it as an independent activity. We felt we had pressing matters to consider at the meeting and voted to keep it under PCD auspices for now, and take up the question later. Martin will continue to coordinate volunteer dancer, around 3 per week, to serve Fallbrook Woods with our dance offerings. The staff was really appreciative of what the dancers did for the first two events, and requested to mention us on their volunteer of the week page with a link back to our website, to which we heartily consented.

(break)

Membership signups

Blair passed around a membership signup sheet. As for an introductory packet, he felt that what we already have is sufficient. We discussed modifications to the signup sheet. We'll put out the forms throughout October for membership signups at dance. We'll start making announcements at dance and start signups in October with the modified form that Blair and Dave developed. Thanks Blair and Dave!

Membership meeting

John proposed a post-dance potluck party and meeting. We settled on Nov 2, 12:30 - 3:30;  John to check with Kristin (update: Nov. 2 not available; current proposed date and time is Saturday Nov. 1, 10AM-2PM at Avant)

DJ feedback

Nev proposes a DJ feedback form to help grow the art. Wants to keep it positive.
John (echoed by others): Don't see the need. Some suggested the suggestion box. Other inputs: We don't want to interfere with the creative process; "bad" sets actually are good in that they take us out of our comfort zone. The DJs could take responsibility for self-evaluation according to the form criteria they've established: How well did I do against our established criteria? Also, Chloë's take from Neige's experience with DJ feedback forms at DanceCamp was that there was conflicting input that ultimately wasn't helpful. Another idea: more generally than just DJ feedback was "How're we doing?" in general. Get input from the community on any and all aspects of the PCD experience. The DJs are meeting as a group this Sunday (September 28) and will discuss this among other things.

Meraki Meeting Facilitation

Nev: It might be worthwhile to pick facilitator for the next meeting at the end of each meeting. Among other things, it would cut down on selection time at the beginning of the meeting.
Julie volunteered to facilitate the next meeting; Neil to take notes.

Wizengamot (Operations Committee)

John: With Don's departure, we're down to 5 members and could use one more to bring our membership back to 6. Our next meeting is slated for Sunday October 5 after dance. Nev expressed interest.

Next meeting

Monday October 20, 7-9PM at Jill's, 39 North St. Portland, enter at driveway side door, 1st floor.
We will focus on the membership meeting
Julie to facilitate with Neil on notes

Meraki (Steering Committee) Meeting Notes 8/12/14

We met at Eva's lovely home in SoPo. Thanks Eva for your hospitality!

Present: Eva, Deb (facilitating), Dave, Neil, Chloë, Julie, Jill, Parks, Liberty, Kellie, Mellen, Blair, Jim Young, John (notetaker); Traca and Don in our hearts and by remote video road song presentation

Communications coordinator replacement

• Paid position? No, but consider another time
• Don set the bar really high with his creative presentations. Whoever takes on this job can make it simple and not feel they have to live up to Don's standards. (Ed: though he is a tough act to follow.)
• Announcements frequency doesn't have to be once a week. Maybe once a month? Although the announcements are fun to get every week.
• Neil volunteered to take it on, with Julie and John as backups. Neil wants to do them every week. John to get login details to Neil; Communications Committee to advise Meraki if there's trouble down the road.

Community Health Issue

• Eva raised the concern about public health concerns in light of current Ebola virus epidemic in Africa. And in Maine, we have the cold and flu season. What should we be doing to safeguard the health of our community members?
• Resolved: ask the communications person to make an announcement ("Stay home if you're sick") when there's a wider health concern (like a flu outbreak).

Lea's request to have us take over EDM punch cards

• Background: Lea sent a letter to the PCD email address asking if we'd consider accepting and honoring the handful of punch cards she has. No payment was discussed for this consideration.
• The overwhelming response amongst those present: No.
• John to send a response email to Lea saying simply: No (Ed.: This was done 8/13/14)

Chloë's upcoming move; upcoming opening for Thursday evenings at BiM

• Chloë is planning to move to Holyoke MA, and will be teaching until Oct 1.
• We tried to veto this precipitous action, but unfortunately could not.
• She offered that if PCD or one of its members was interested in taking over her Thursday evening teaching slot at Bhakti in Motion, she'd make the suggestion to BiM.
• We discussed various options for PCD taking this on. Deb is interested in teaching in the fall, and we'd be stretching ourselves thin by taking on another weekly dance. So Chloë and Deb will work together to see if Deb could have the slot.

Membership

• Dave (membership chair; Blair co-chair) reviewed our agreements for establishing membership:
• Timeframe: Enrollment is open, but advertised at the will of the Meraki, probably once or twice a year.
• Annual renewals
• Revocation possible by Board of Directors (established in bylaws)
• Membership document approved for putting at the front table.
• The time to initiate membership signups is drawing near.
• We'll take up membership signups and the first annual Membership Meeting (slated for around the beginning of November) at the next Meraki Meeting.

Scentsitivity

• Neal raised the concern about sensitivity of some dancers to strong fragrances, including perfume, essential oils, strong smelling shampoo and hair products.
• Let's create a phrase that goes into the email.
• Make an announcement occasionally at the end of Sunday Dance
• Deb to write up a blurb for the email announcement. (Ed.: Completed 8/13/14)

Sacred Silence

• Feedback from Liz Farmer: silence makes it more sacred feeling. She appreciates the atmosphere we've established (not hookup like in Boston)
• Julie: Create banner? Good idea, but we couldn't agree on verbiage. Tabled for now.

Service (Dave)

• Look for ways of being generous that are part of community building
• Specific idea: Preble St. But think broadly about the possibilities for us to serve the community
• Dave will take this on

Paid retreat (Eva):

• Wouldn't it be nice to offer paid weekend retreat for everybody?
• Would be for members, but this could create a number of difficulties
• Other ideas: have one or more free dances; lower the price of Sunday Dance; make New Year's eve free for members
• Just an idea to think about; we'll table it for now

Don & Traca video

• Dave showed a video that Don and Traca recorded on the road for us. What a sweet way to have their presence at the meeting!
• Our resident professional videographer Dave Grant filmed our group response lovefest. Fun!

Next meeting: September 23, 7PM at Neil's (147 Brackett St.)

Agenda items for next time:

• Start membership signup
• Plan membership meeting
• (John) New Wizengamot members

Meraki/ Charter Membership Meeting to Enact the Bylaws

• Minutes for the Meraki/ Charter Membership Meeting to Enact the Bylaws

• Held at Deb and Dave's 

• 
  

• Present: Martin Steingesser
 
• Traca Gress
 
• Cherie Howard
 
• Don Norman
• Deb Grant
 
• Eva Goetz
 
• Chloe Urban
 
• David Grant
 
• Diane Archambault
 
• Genevieve Levin
 
• Jill Eng
• Judy Tierney
• Liberty Bryer
 
• Neil Sattin 

• 
  

• Missed and loved: Charter members and "Founder-like" friends who were unable to attend.  

• We held you all in our collective appreciation for what we have created together.  Thank you!!!

The Bylaws of PCD are now Official!

We enacted our Bylaws efficiently and boisterously and signed off on them, whether we needed to or not, completing this phase of our journey together as a dance community organizing and structuring a community dance.

We also thanked John and Mary Ellen for their tireless work on the process of incorporation and on the creation of our PCD bylaws.  Let's thank them again right now:  Thank you!!!

Then we had an awesome potluck.

Next Meraki meeting:  Tuesday August 12, 7pm at Eva's house, 46 C Street, SoPo, 207.756.0488. 
Liberty's home as backup location.

This note written by Deb G

Meraki Meeting Notes - 06/18/14

Our Meraki meeting took place at Liberty's Lovely beLoved Palace.  Thank you Liberty!!!!
Attended:  John, Liberty, Julie, Blair, Don, Nev, Chloe, Mary Ellen, Cherie, Deb, Dave, Eva

Next meetings
Charter Membership meeting Tuesday July 1at 7pm.  At Deb and Dave's house, 60 Brentwood St, Portland, 207.775.7752.
Charter Membership meeting will be a potluck party.  Enact the bylaws as efficiently as possible.
"Charter-like" members (those founder-types who have worked on Meraki/PCD) are also welcome.
Next Meraki meeting:  Tuesday August 12, 7pm at Eva's house, 46 C Street, SoPo, 207.756.0488.
Liberty's home as backup location.

Agenda items discussed during the meeting are underlined. Followed by summary of discussion/decisions.

Sundays (Liberty) Kudo's re the Sunday announcements. They are really great-- Thanks Don!!!

Wizengamot  The term ends this month.  Sage, John, Don have term limit up.  Do we need to restructure the terms?  It's a group coordinating the coordinators, and also functions as a friendly face that is resp. for making dance happen, helping keep flow and peace, etc.
Coordinators are the Greeter/DJ/Facilities/Communications.
Don proposes we make it loose, fill places as needed. Discussed a term limit of 6 months to one year. Discussed having 4-6 on committee.
The Wiz is Chloe, Neil, Blair, Don, Sage, John.  Don will leave the Wiz when he moves to CA, but on the other hand Don IS the Wiz.
Wiz can come to the Meraki when they want more support.

THINK ABOUT THIS: Our Esteemed Media Coordinator Don will be needing a replacement person by August.  Media: Weekly email via Mailchimp, FB. Phone message, keeping up to date, Has website editing capability, keep calendar up to date.  Don estimates it takes 30 min to make an email.  Up to 2 hours a week of work. This could be a job done by 2 ppl.
Don will put out an email to find out about interest in this/these position(s) of Media Co(co)Ordinator.

Appreciation: To Chloe for making PCD website elist.

Executive session

Should there be a peace committee?
The Wiz is responsible for peace and emotional safety issues and are the initial go to when there is a need for conflict resolution.  The Wiz may choose to directly help people with conflicts that may arise; or at times the Wiz may appoint a group to manage particularly challenging or unusual situations. Wiz members need to be aware of their individual skills and/or limitations in this area.  Wiz members are not required in any way to act as professional mental health counselors or mediators (in fact Wiz members are cautioned not to); but skillful ability and the ability to remain calm/collected/compassionate/boundaried is important.  When Wiz members feel they need to enlist help outside of the Wiz it is appropriate to triage or refer to willing/skilled people within or beyond PCD.
Announcement will be made this week that is a reminder about Wiz role.
Chloe will change name of Wiz's function to Operations and Safety Committee.

Beach Party
Nev, Blair, Deb, Liberty, Julie will work on this.  Date, time, info to be sent to Don. Consult with John about $.

PCD Charter Members were officially established tonight:

Don Norman
Mary Ellen Deschenes
Neil Sattin
Cherie Howard
John Boynton
Deb Grant
Dave Grant
Traca Gress
Parks McKinney
Jill Eng
Eva Goetz
Jim Young
Julie Vohs
Genevieve Levin
Martin Steingesser
Judy Tierney
Liberty Bryer
Chloe Urban
Xiknawi Melloh
Aimee Moffitt
Diane Archambault
Blair Fridgen

In the fall we will open up for general membership.  See May 20, 2014 meeting notes for current thinking on membership.

Charter Members reviewed the proposed bylaws.
Briefly we discussed liability coverage, particularly in the case of court costs.  John and Mary Ellen feel that liability is covered well enough in bylaws based on current status of PCD.
We will have a charter member meeting to formally adopt the bylaws once they are reviewed as a final document by our attorney Zeke.  Any changes by Zeke or John/Mellen would be put out by email to charter members with highlight, for opportunity for feedback.
Don will email Merakians who did not establish that they wanted to become charter members in case they'd like to do that.
We will have a potluck/celebration on this date.

Next meetings
Charter Membership meeting Tuesday July 1at 7pm.  At Deb and Dave's house, 60 Brentwood St, Portland, 207.775.7752.
Charter Membership meeting will be a potluck.  Enact the bylaws as efficiently as possible.
"Charter-like" members (those founder-types who have worked on Meraki/PCD) are also welcome.
after the voting in of the bylaws.

Next Meraki meeting:  Tuesday August 12, 7pm at Eva's house, 46 C Street, SoPo, 207.756.0488.
Liberty's home as backup location.

Meraki Meeting Notes - 5/20/2014

NEXT MERAKI MEETING:  

7:00 pm June 18, 2014

Liberty's House

8 Edward Street

South Portland

NEXT MERAKI MEETING:  

May 20, 2014

The main topic of the meeting was Membership, but before we dug into that meaty topic, we dispensed with the following topics:

• PDC Ride Share:  PCD Ride Share has been active since late January in the sense that it has been advertised in the weekly email and published in a blog format.  In that time, no rides have been shared:  no rides offered and no rides requested.  Don Norman asked if it could be discontinued and the Meraki consensus was to  accede to the discontinuation.
• John Boynton offered a quick financial update.  The point was reiterated that decisions about changing what we ask for financially and what kind of things we spend on the surplus be made after a good year of service so that we have a full idea of yearly operating expenses.
• There was a discussion about the new whiteboard - its contents and placement.  It was decided that such questions were rightly a Wizengamot (operating committee) matter.
• A concern was voiced about the use of Spotify as an audio source for playing music at the Sunday Dance offering due to the limited quality of the music files used.  DJ members present promised to bring this concern to the collected DJs.
• Also discussed, but with no definitive decision to implement, was a discussion around the use of "Executive Sessions" which would be opportunities for the Meraki group to discuss sensitive topics off the meeting notes record.

Membership

The Membership committee (Dave Grant, Xiknowi and Blair Fridgen) presented their findings and proposals regarding the formation of a membership standard within PCD.  They provided examples in the form of three documents which are located on Google Docs: a description, a flow chart, and a sample sign-up sheet.  

The description was thoroughly reviewed and discussed.  Many decisions were made, while otheres were tabled.  From the description, the following points were approved by Meraki consensus:

• Portland Community Dance invites all dancers who have attended 5 or more dances to add your voices to our community through annual membership.  Membership is free and comes with the opportunity to participate in the management of PCD, as follows:
• Participate in Operational Meetings and our Annual Membership Meeting
• Receive Notifications of Meetings and Minutes
• Vote on By-Laws, Officers, and Policies
• Serve on Committees or as Officers
• Support the PCD mission and Safety Guidelines
• Begin by asking those on the current Meraki list to be Charter Members in order to facilitate a quick meeting of the legal requirements
• Enrollment for expanded membership will be Open, meaning a person become a member at any time, but enrollment will be advertised at the will of the Meraki, probably once or twice a year.
• Membership will require renewal on an annual basis, based on the calendar year.  i.e. if someone signs up as a member in January, August, or October, they will need to renew for the new calendar year.
• Membership renewal to coincide with the annual membership meeting.
• The initial membership enrollment will be in person at the dance, and not through electronic means. 
• To be included in the By-laws will be a provision providing that membership can be revoked by the PCD board.
• Management of membership enrollment will be a function of the Meraki.

Also discussed were the idea to provide new members with a packet that includes the mission statement and safety guidelines.

The biggest discussion was around enrollment; whether it should be open permanently, or only at certain times.   The process and justifications for revoking membership were also discussed at length, as was the decision to start with a charter membership before opening membership to the wider community.

 A number of logistical questions were discussed as well, including the use of electronic vs. analog means for managing membership.  It was decided that the details would be managed by the Meraki in due course, to be decided as needed by the full Meraki or their appointed representatives in a committee assigned the tasks.

A timeline/flowchart was also approved by the attending Merakites and is as follows:

• June 2014 - Email the Meraki group to solicit Charter Members.
• September 2014 - Charter Members vote to approve the By-Laws
• October 2014 - Open membership Enrollment to general community
• 1st week of November 2014 - hold first annual general members meeting
• Early November 2015 - 2nd Annual Members meeting and Renewal drive

Wizengamot (Operations Committee) meeting 5/25/14

Present: John, Don, Neil, Sage, Blair

John gave an update on the community safety issue and we discussed. No further action needed at this time; we'll keep a safety message on the announcements board regularly.

John started the whiteboard announcements, but didn't want to be on the hook every week to do that, and requested assistance. Wiz members will take turns arriving early and putting out the message board. Don will take next week (6/1); John will take June 8. Blair said he could do it in June. Don to put a notes page on our Facebook page that we could use to sign up with.

Looking at the suggestions box, there has been nothing new for several weeks. It didn't get put out yesterday at all. The last suggestion came up after the birthday recognition for John and Polly's common birthday at the end of March; the suggestion was to lift up the birthday celebrants. We rejected this idea on a number of grounds. But the suggestion was duly considered.

Neil did a brief run-through of the information he got from Kristin about the sound system. We were glad that the sound board had been fixed, as our experience with Don's having to plug directly into the wall last week was that there was inadequate volume.

We made brief mention that first full 6-month term is up at the end of June. John, Don, and Sage will be rotating out. We'll need to get the word out for volunteers for the next term, and schedule some time at the next Meraki meeting for Wiz selections. Also: do we want to keep 6 month terms with quarterly rotation? We've found that the job does not involve all that much and perhaps burnout is not the issue we had anticipated. Also when we first set up those terms, we thought that the Wiz was going to be the board. So we could discuss this at the next Meraki meeting.

Next meeting: June 29 after dance. We expect it to be a crossover meeting with outgoing and incoming Wizengamotians.

Wizengamot (Operations Committee) Meeting Notes 4/27/14

Wiz meeting notes 4/27/14

Sound system review:

Get with Kirstin and overview of instructions to clarify and relay info to DJs. John, Neil and Chloe will tell DJs.

Safety: 

Discussion about dancers physical and emotional safety. 

Possible safety announcement at end of dance. 

White board sign with safety reminders, announcements so not interrupt the vibe at end of dance. 

Welcome to newbies: 

Greeter ID newbie and are then welcomes by volunteer newbie welcomer. Woman to woman and man to man for gender ease. Blair volunteered to be welcomer.

Appreciation: 

Chloe for her stellar work with website

John for his unflagging, dogged work on all things PCD.

Next Wiz 5/25/14 after dance.

PCD Meraki (Steering Committee) Meeting 5/6/14

Next meeting:EXCLUSIVE TOPIC IS MEMBERSHIP.  LET'S GET THIS PUPPY DONE! TUESDAY MAY 20,  7-9,  at Traca's, 39 Highland Ave, Gorham, 207.252.4059   

May 6 Meeting Minutes
We met at Eva's home in SoPo. Thanks for your hospitality Eva!  John took notes. Deb spiffed 'em up and posted.

Present: Nev, Blair, Neil, Liberty, Chloe, Deb, Dave, Mellen, John, Julie, Eva (presiding)

First topic-- Discussion of physical safety.  
Concerns/complaint(s) recently, from dancers feeling worried about being knocked into or someone getting hurt.
Sense of exuberance, people feeling comfortable, others perhaps not so much. Some people don't have a sense of their own space and how it affects others. Others may be exuberant but are aware of others. Mainly discussing high energy dancers who partner and use a lot of space. 
This seems to come up periodically. Maybe from time to time we need to make an announcement or remind dancers to be conscious of others.
It's crowded. Contact: some lifts/moves that others find frightening. The true risk depends in part on experience/ability of individual dancers and partners. Some things are pretty risky. At times dancers may be a step away from someone really getting hurt.
Suggestion: put something out written. Dancing in partnership: in a way responsible for your partner, looking out for possible collisions by partner with other dancers.
Need to put this out verbally.
Restating: concern of safety with others and self (injury avoidance). Concern about excessive exuberance.
Idea: Try the whiteboard, with instruction to greeter to ask people to look at it.
Another idea: floating sign.
Another idea: speak with people you don't feel safe with. Encourage direct communication.
Deb read website page on safety.
Facebook another tool. We'll ask Don to post something there.
John gets whiteboard. Ask Cherie to highlight to greeter special announcements on whiteboard.

Next topic: General topic of Inclusion, including who comes to dance, and when and how do dancers feel included or excluded.
1--We're a primarily white community, able-bodied. How to reach out, draw and/or include people from non dominant culture or groups that might otherwise feel excluded?
What is our responsibility now?  In the future?
Currently we don't advertise and we are not trying to actively grow in number.  If an when we do we may want to return to topic of diversity.
2--How to include new people who often hang out around the periphery of the dance space?
Most of us are aware of helping new people feel welcome and make an effort.
We reminded ourselves to keep in mind how cultivate an inclusive environment when possible.
We do have a very strong subgroup of social-outside-of-dance community members  and some dancers who sense exclusion may be feeling that. 
Some of the people around the periphery feel safer on the edge as dancing is already an edge or feels risky and is plenty to deal with.  Others would like to be invited "in".  Often it's not clear what dancers who are dancing primarily alone want.
At some point we may want to consider educating inexperienced or new dancers about how to engage with other dancers, from a dance perspective.
We don't have any instructor saying "find a partner"
Idea: Once or twice a dance DJs could provide music that implies or invites dancing with a partner or group dance or stupid line dance. Bring up with the DJs.

Next topic:  Discussion of a community issue.

Topic for future discussion/review: Membership: Committee needs to meet first (Dave G, John B, Blair F). Otherwise tabled for now.

Next topic: Website
SEO. Others can link to site, add a few keywords, but otherwise don't worry about it.

Topic for future discussion/review: Create a policy statement that reserves the right to ask a member/participant to leave.

Next topic: Outdoor dance/special event: Nev/Julie to work on planning one or more summer beach events. Neil to call State St. church to secure facility for New Year's eve.

Next Topic: Announcements: put on the whiteboard, reduce spoken announcements at closing circle. Try for a month (having no announcements at closing circle). Chloe to get info to DJs.

Additional tasks: John to check with Kristin about putting us on the website.  John to get whiteboard.  Deb to make sign that reminds dancers about safety.

Next meeting:EXCLUSIVE TOPIC IS MEMBERSHIP.  LET'S GET THIS PUPPY DONE! TUESDAY MAY 20,  7-9,  at Traca's, 39 Highland Ave, Gorham, 207.252.4059    Liberty's home as backup!

PCD Steering Committee (Meraki) Meeting Notes 4/15/14

We met at Chloe's apartment - Thanks for your hospitality, Chloe!

Attending: Traca, Don, Blair, Mellen, Xiknawi, Parks, Chloe, Liberty, Neil, Eva, John, Sherrie.

Eva led the meeting and ran a tight ship. We finished early! John took notes.

• Uncovering mirrors: A community member asked why we covered the mirrors. Perhaps a holdover from Ecstatic Dance? Suggestion: experiment with having mirrors uncovered. We discussed this earlier when we decided to do it, and: we like to have mirrors covered. Self-consciousness, able to drop deeper into an internal experience. Suggestion: try an experiment of uncovering one or more mirrors. We arrived at no consensus on the experiment. So: leave them as they are (covered, except for the two closest to the entryway).

• Blankets: When Xiknawi was hurt, there were no blankets to cover him with. Suggestion was made to donate a couple of blankets and keep with the first aid kit. A few at the meeting said they might be able to donate one. Blair will take on making sure this happens as part of his Wizengamot safety lead role. Also, we'll leave the first aid kit by the greeter table so people know to find it. 

• DJ Criteria doc: Xiknawi wanted to see it. Contact DJ Coordinator (now Sage) who will provide copy of the doc.

• DJ Compensation: Still as sense of wanting more compensation. Now $80/local, $100/travelers. DJs want to acquire music legally, which means $$. A suggestion: at year end, buy gift cards for DJs when we know we have funds. Another idea: get an iPad and a paid PCD Spotify account. Any DJ could put together a playlist and play it on the iPad. Challenge: logistics + DJ's pride of ownership. Meraki to DJs: we're willing to consider buying iPad and Spotify account. DJs to discuss. Meraki will also review funds at the end of the year and consider paying a bonus to the DJs.

• Domain names: We have portlandcommunitydance .com and .org, but haven't turned on .org. We should redirect from one to the other and publish just one: portlandcommunitydance.com. Neil fronted domain registration cost out of his pocket. Treasurer: submit a bill for reimbursement.

• Name conflict: Mellen saw an ad in Go magazine for another group called Greater Portland Community Dance. This raised some concern, but Mellen feels she's not the right person to contact them. She will provide contact info to Don, who will contact them about the name.

• Social Services: Eva could have used some conflict resolution/social service person. We are equipped to provide neither medical nor counseling services. But the Wizengamot is the first go-to point for interpersonal or conflict resolution or mediation. Xiknawi and Blair will put some reference or crisis hotline number(s) into the first aid kit.

• Photos: Terrell posted a note on facebook about the picture-taking incident and tagged several PCDers. Parks and Eva responded, but Eva felt we needed to discuss as a group. We discussed; we don't need a photographer right now. PCD to send private message to Terrell.

• Bylaws: We're working on them; nothing else to report now.

• Membership: Read Dave's document, discussed. Want to include but deemphasize Meraki participation. (Not make it sound like you're signing up for Meraki if you become a member.) Don suggested to boil it down to simple bullet points:
• 5 or more dances
• Free
• Allows participation in Meraki
• Announcements
• Vote on board at annual and special meetings, and bylaws
• Can be an officer
• Can serve on the Wiz (ed: or any other committee)

• Membership committee needed:
• Initial membership information sheet and signup
• Keep track of membership contact info
• Be involved in membership meeting
• Committee: Xiknawi, Blair, and Dave
• Let's neither rush nor delay on getting membership going
• Mellen will review Dave's draft

• Membership meeting deferred to membership committee

• Retreat: Neil and Chloe presented ideas for retreat. Suggest a different venue than ED retreat. Neil has looked at a possible alternative (lodge as part of a camp). Last ED retreat: hardly any dancing. Want to have organized dances. Needs more structure to makes sure dance happens.
• Do we want a retreat? Yes
• Should PCD subsidize cost? => Partly
• What time of year? Spring or fall. Spring 2014 probably not possible at this point.
• Let's research costs etc. and report back.
• Traca: consider EarthDance. Great facility. Xiknawi: may exclude some because of distance and travel expense. Others: we could rent a few vans for the trip.
• Committee: Neil, Chloe, Sherrie, with Mellen advising on camps
• Timing: This fall or next spring. Perhaps pull a daylong event soon? Maybe in the summer on the beach with a bonfire?

• Next meeting: May 6, 7-9PM, tentatively at Traca's (39 Highland Ave., Gorham), with Eva's as a backup

PCD Steering Committee (Meraki) Meeting Notes: 3/27/14

We met at Nev's lovely home. Thanks for hosting, Nev!

In attendance: Don, Traca, Parks, Mellen, Chloe, Julie, Jim Young, Deb & Dave Grant, Nev, John

Next meeting: Tuesday April 15 7-9PM, at Chloe's, 147 Brackett St.

Key decisions:

• Please no photographs at dance except by special arrangement. We'll add this request to the welcome sign, the newbie sheet, and the website. Julie will make an announcement at closing circle.
• Meraki meeting host/hostess can submit reimbursement for up to $15 for hosting expenses.
• Mellen will keep track of who's signed the liability form on a spreadsheet
• We will not have frequent dancer punchcards for now. Leave it as: suggested donation of $10.
• Deb is willing to DJ on Easter Sunday. We'll probably dance, but we want to gauge interest first.
• John to forward draft bylaws to Meraki for review.
• New Wizengamot members: Chloe, Neil, and Blair to replace outgoing members Dave, Julie, and Jim.
• Membership:
• Dues set at $0 / year with no volunteer work requirement
• Benefits:
• Can vote at membership meetings 
• Can participate in Meraki meetings
• Eligibility: has attended a minimum of 5 dances (relying on honor system so we don't have to track people's attendance).
• Responsibilities: Dave to write up and present to Meraki
• Membership falls under the purview of the Meraki (steering committee), not the Wizengamot (operations committee)
• We'll need a coordinator or committee to handle member signups, renewals, and tracking.
• Membership meeting quorum shall be 10% of membership

Discussion:

Some of the key decisions mentioned above were taken with little discussion and need not be elaborated further. But we had more extensive discussion on membership, the Wizengamot survey, a secret agenda item raised by Eva, and the website.

Website

Chloe demonstrated the now-completed website to oohs and ahhs and general appreciative acclaim by every one present. Nice job, Chloe! Thanks for your hard work, and also for editors and reviewers. Way to go, team!

Membership

We discussed the benefits, responsibilities, and requirements of membership. The feeling is to keep membership as open as possible and thus free, but the possibility of having dues in the form of a volunteer commitment was discussed at some length (and rejected, but we're open to offering volunteer opportunities to those who wish to serve). Also there was general consensus that membership should be open to those who know what it is we're about and therefore who have danced with us some minimum number of times (or who "dance regularly", but that language was eventually discarded as being not easily quantifiable, and exclusive of seasonal dancers).

Further, we'll need a membership cycle (annual or biannual) and either a coordinator or committee to track membership, handle signup and renewals, etc. etc. We discussed which group should be responsible for membership: Meraki or Wizengamot. The Wiz is responsible for making dance happen, and membership is outside that charter, so the Meraki is the group responsible for membership. We'll keep a separate email list for membership. Dave will write up the rules and responsibilities of membership and submit to the Meraki for review and discussion. Don will publish whatever we come up with.

New Wizengamot Members

Don reported on the survey. There were 13 respondents, of which 4 wanted and 2 were willing to serve for the next six months. Neil & Chloe want to serve and wanted to be considered as a pair, a package deal. The other wants were Blair and Cherie. Others were interested in serving in the future. We accepted Neil and Chloe as two of the new members because of their ongoing commitment and contribution to PCD. We then chose between Blair and Cherie by random drawing, and Blair was selected. Thanks to all who expressed willingness and desire to serve now in the future, and welcome Chloe, Neil, and Blair to the Wizengamot team!

Eva's Secret Agenda Item

... turned out to be a Happy Birthday celebration with delicious gluten-free chocolate cake for John, who donned his special Treasurer's eyeshades for the celebration and basked in the love expressed by the group. Thank you all! And especially to Eva, who had to dodge John on the way to Nev's house with her cake, pretending to visit a neighbor avoid discovery, and entering through the back door to keep the secret agenda item a secret. Well done!

For future discussion:

• Retreat
• Special quarterly dances
• Membership coordination
• Membership initial signup
• Membership meeting
• Bylaws

Info for people inquiring about becoming DJ's...

In February 2014 at our meeting of DJ's we discussed the need for info for our PCD dancers who inquire about DJing on Sundays.                                                             ~DJ team

Becoming a DJ for Portland Community Dance

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Portland Community Dance DJ. We are delighted when dancers want to share their love of dance music with our community.

Our PCD DJ team helps assure the quality of what our DJ's provide for Sunday dances. It establishes criteria for becoming a DJ and also may audition prospective DJ's when appropriate. When needed the team sets a maximum number of DJs so that current DJs have adequate opportunity to DJ Sunday dances over the course of a year. In this case dancers interested in becoming DJs may be placed on a waiting list until additional DJs are needed. 

Please be aware that the DJ role is competency and skill based, as well as artistic. It is not only the job of the DJ to integrate technical skill with music for two hours; the DJ also establishes and holds safe space for dancers and helps set the tone, flow and vibe for the dance. 

We ask that potential new DJ's meet the following criteria prior to receiving training and supporting future PCD DJ's. Please consider the criteria listed below and feel free to contact us with any questions or clarification you may need. 

Prerequisites for receiving PCD DJ training/mentoring:

• Has attended Sunday dance regularly for at least 6 months.
• Has experience downloading /uploading music into Itunes or other equivalent music program
• Has basic computer technology skills and access to a computer that supports DJ'ing needs.
• Has working knowledge of Algoriddim DJay software or equivalent DJ software or learns software fundamentals on his or her own. All DJs must use DJ software to facilitate smooth music transitions & effects. 
• Has willingness to attend periodic DJ meetings and be part of the DJ team. 
• Has willingness to attend DJ training and/or be mentored by an experienced DJ. 
• Has familiarity with creating wave-like music sequences generally used for Portland Community Dance – influenced by but not limited to the 5 Rhythms wave format and other music elements that help build and diminish intensity as well as influence mood (such as tempo and music style). 
• Is willing to spend significant time searching for appropriate and varied music that fits into a 1 hour 50 minute dance wave, with emphasis on providing fresh or new music overall. Prospective DJ's should be aware that providing new or fresh music regularly requires an investment of money as well (when DJ's purchase their selections or subscribe to online music access).
• Plans to continue to dance with regularity at Sunday dances (and other conscious dance venues if of interest) to experience other DJ's sets and keep current with music being played. 
• If a dancer has significant DJ experience in some form of conscious dance, aspects of the criteria may be waived at the discretion of the DJ team.

We hope that the requirements aren't daunting--they are intended to help ensure that we continue to support the development of quality DJ's for our beloved dance. When you feel you meet the above criteria and would like to proceed with becoming a DJ for PCD please contact the DJ coordinator and someone will let you know about the timing for the next DJ training and mentoring process.                       

                                                Thanks again for your interest,     PCD's DJ Team

Meraki minutes; Tuesday March 11, 2014 at Julie's place. 7-9pm

WE PLAY MERAKI!!!  Tuesday March 11 2014

Next meeting:
Thursday March 27, at Nev's house, 24 Pitt Street.  Street parking available but ok to park in driveway if you have trouble. Nev: 207.232.9014.       *On our Esteemed Treasurer's birthday!!!!!

Attendees: Eva, John, Julie, Jim Y, Dave, Blair, Deb, Don, Traca, Mellen, Nev, Chloe, Neil

Welcome: to Nev who is attending for first time tonight.

Website:  Chloe has initial stuff to Deb and Don and they will meet next Thurs to further the cause.  Dave suggests widget to display ongoing blog news.  More opp to discuss after Thurs mtg.  Chloe is up to 6 hrs of work and hopes to get to 12. ish.

DJ issues:
DJ's shared their becoming a DJ criteria document and Meraki may have feedback about it after reading.
DJ's are requesting a higher stipend/compensation for their work.
Discussion of that as well as the larger question of compensation for people with significant roles with PCD.   Reminder about our being a volunteer organization.  Let's emphasize volunteer spirit and be cautious about mass compensation.
1099's are needed at >$600.  Idea: that people get paid for dj'ing and get reimbursed for costs; It was suggested that this is too cumbersome to manage.
Idea of giving DJ's $80/100 now as response to start.
Group decision:  $80 locals, $100 for those who travel.  We can revisit this in future.


Finances review (John and co.):
Avg we take in $400+/ Sunday.  $100 for space, $80/100 for DJ's. per week.   incorp, $645; $515 for liability ins. ; annual incorp $150; $300 for taxes; DJ's $6000 or less; rent is $6000; Marketing $300 (website, domain, marketing).  Total 13,265 costs annual.  Round up to $15000.   Therefore $288/week is what we need to take in to cover costs.  Round up to $300.

Discussion of lowering admission/donation to less than $10: 
sliding scale idea.
punch cards idea.
open up and allow for generosity and don't track closely (nay to punch cards) comment.
Idea of suggested donation: $8.  Idea of sharing "this is our cost."
Why reduce our cost of admission?  Input: It's in our interest to lower our income as we are subject to taxes;  What to do with extra $? Opportunity for use of extra funds at end of year; Creative and/or charitable opps.
Moved and agreed to drop punch cards.
Idea of experiment:  Change to sliding scale to see what happens.  How does it change what people pay?  Pay what you can.
Moved and agreed to keep fee at $10 as a suggested donation.  Be clearer in language-ing.  Jim Young will make a sign that makes the invitation to pay what you can clear.  We will revisit recc'ed suggested donation after summer as we will then have a sense of the fluctuations and costs over the year.
Moved and agreed to drop IOU's and tracking IOU's.

WIZ issues:
Wiz role: Operations committee for Sunday dance was our original intent. The Wiz Makes Dance Happen.
Include DJ coordinator in Wiz?  Greeter coordinator? Comment that Wiz structure and method has been working (6 people share responsibility for running of Sundays and Greeter coord and DJ coord aren't required to be a part of the Wiz); wizzies agree and upon discussion there was enthusiastic hoofalllowing about how well the Wiz structure is working.   (Meeting notes lookback: mixed recall about original intent of Wiz.  One set of notes said they become the board.)
How will the 3 Wizzies transition out and bring in 3 new Wizzies for their 6 month term?
Moved and agreed to put message out to email list for 3 Positions with description.
Don will put together the text for this and run it by a few peeps.  Survey option:  willing, not willing, enthusiastic.  Julie will make that survey.  We will choose next 3 Wizzies at next meeting, as a prioritized agenda item.

Bylaws-- will pick up with this another time.
And: YIPPEEE WE DON"T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT INCORPORATION!!!! DONE!!!!

Membership:
Idea of a party as first membership meeting.
Proposal-- if you want to become a member, let us know (by email).   Membership / joining is a rolling process.  You sign up at dance or by email.
Concern expressed that if and as org grows the membership could become unwieldy.  Eg what if people who don't normally dance sign up as members?  Remember that we need to have a min number of members present at annual mtg to hold a vote.
Proposal to have annual window for becoming a member.
Idea that willingness to volunteer 3 hrs a year.
Need to have more brainstorming around membership.  Agenda item for next meeting.
Julie will work on writing a descrip of member qualifications and benefits for us to develop further at next meeting.

Next meeting:
Thursday March 27, at Nev's house, 24 Pitt Street.  Street parking available but ok to park in driveway if you have trouble. Nev: 207.232.9014.       *On our Esteemed Treasurer's birthday!!!!!